Since so many of you have enjoyed Picasa, let’s roll with it!

Today’s topic: COLLAGES!

Seriously, make one collage on Picasa and you will be HOOKED! Never again will you have to make a blog post with 17 different pictures….or try to send huge photo emails to Grandma, only to have it bounce back to you.

Open the program and click on a folder that has multiple photos you would like to use.

Next, click on the photos that you want to use. Select multiple images by holding down the control button at the same time.

Click COLLAGE at the bottom of the screen.

Now you can play around and create several different types of collages.

Picture Pile:

Mosaic and Frame Mosaic (shown here- mosaic):

Contact Sheet:

And lastly: Multiple exposure

Once you choose the layout, you can shuffle pictures, change the sizing, and change the background color.
When you are satisfied, click “Create Collage”.

You are all done! This is super fun to play with. Once you have created the collage, you can add text, too. Just be aware-Picasa usually saves the collages in a folder other than the one your photos were in. For example instead of Pictures–>Love Tutu, it might be in Pictures–>Picasa–>Collages.

Enjoy playing and leave your tips in the comments section!

Some fantastic ways to save money AND time while traveling with kids!

Transportation

:: Use frequent flier plans through credit cards.

:: Trekaroo: Sign Up for Alerts, Deals – Many airlines offer “deals of the week” specials, or affordable one way fares, but it’s not easy to stay on top of them all. Through partnerships with Expedia and others, Trekaroo will announce deals through Twitter (@Trekaroo), as well as a monthly newsletter.

:: Flying TIP: Pick up at the Departures concourse, rather than at Arrivals. The line at Arrivals is always torturous, whereas there is never a line at Departures. This strategy works great when you call a taxi or town car, too—just tell the dispatcher to pick you up at Departures.

Lodging

:: Rent houses (i.e. Florida) vs. hotel.
www.homeaway.com
www.VRBO.com
www.vacationrentals.com
www.myvacationrentals.com

:: House Exchange, try home exchanges-www.JewettStreet.com

:: Stay at hotel that offer “kids play free” or all-suites hotel with kitchen facilities. (Helps avoid eating out).

:: No WiFi-??  Need to stay connected? Search ahead and you can also find wi-fi hot spots around the country with Wi-FiHotSpotList.com.

Food

:: Picnics – Bring a backpack, find a grocery store and get some French bread, cold cuts, cheese and beverages.

:: Eat out for lunch instead of dinner – usually cheaper menu.

:: Google for coupons prior to leaving town print off places you might eat. Plan ahead by gathering coupons for nationwide restaurants and grocery stores.

:: Calling Tip: Avoid calling Fees i.e. (555-1212 and 411) to get a phone number for a restaurant or hotel. Everyone should program this number into the speed dial of their cell phone: 800/GOOG411. It’s a completely free telephone information service from Google.

Attractions

:: Coupons: Figure out which museums, parks and attractions you are going to want to see during the trip. There are coupons for most major attractions online. If you can’t find a coupon for the place that you want to go, call and ask them if they offer coupons. Many places will tell you where to find coupons with just a simple call.

:: Entertainment Books for the city you plan to travel.

:: Online… attractions (theme parks, zoos, museums, etc) book passes online ahead.

:: Call local attraction and ask where you can buy coupons/check local grocery stores.

:: Check your zoo and museum memberships for reciprocal locations. (We went to the AZ zoo free with our zoo passes)

Souvenirs

:: Pre-buy your souvenirs before you go to theme parks and you can save huge money. Before you go, shop at major retailers like Wal-Mart and Kmart, where you’ll find tee-shirts, baseball caps, and bags with favorite characters on them. There are also stuffed toy versions of these characters. It works with nearly any theme park you can think of, from Sesame Place to Disney and Universal  (I’m so excited to have done this for our Disney trip!)

:: Want to save on gas money? Roll up the windows and turn on the air conditioning when you’re on the highway. Open windows create more drag, which uses up more fuel. Also, drive at the speed limit. The faster you go, the more gasoline your car needs to get from A to B

:: Think outside the weekend-to-weekend vacation box. Sometimes shifting your flights one or two days forward or back can make a big difference in airfare. Also, midweek flights are often less crowded, which makes for a more pleasant trip.

Thanks to Trisha at 24/7 Moms for this fantastic guest post!

I am happy to report SEVERAL of you have tried out Picasa~ with success! YAY!

How often do you upload photos onto your computer, only to see that your favorite one is TOTALLY dark? What happened? Did you try your hand at natural light and there just was not enough? Did your flash fail you? No matter what the cause, don’t hit ‘reject’ or ‘delete’ just yet- there may be hope!

Remember back in the old days when people used film? More specifically, black and white film? Black and white film has a charming grainy quality about it that makes pictures look quite fantastic. I am going to show you two 3-step editing processes (one for Picasa and one for Photoshop) that will transform those dark, unappealing digitals into juicy, grainy black and whites!

Here is the original. I snapped it with my Kodak point and shoot digital camera. Ava Dee was just too precious sleeping in her crib and I did not want to use the flash and risk prematurely waking her up.

Follow these simple steps in Picasa:

1. Turn up the fill light.

2. Convert the photo to filtered black and white.

3. Increase the fill light until you have the desired look!

Voila!!

Follow these simple steps in Photoshop (*Please note, I have purchased and installed MCP Actions-http://www.mcpactions.com/ and Totally Rad Actions http://www.totallyradactions.com/)

1. Hit Control M to change the curves. Drag the line upwards to lighten the picture.

2. Run the action “Bitchin’ Black and White” (one of my two favorite BW actions).

3. Run the action “MCP Extreme Fill Flash”.

Are these photos going to be smooth and crisp looking? No way, but they will have character!

Thanks to Caitlin for sharing!

Are you thinking about hosting a garage sale this Spring/Summer?  If so, be sure to read through these great tips by Ashley Grimaldo.  Ashley writes for Go Frugal Blog and is always on the lookout for money-saving tips and ideas!

Step 1: Decide who, what, when, and where.
Plan at least one month in advance to start collecting items and separating them to a garage sale pile. For maximum success invite the neighbors to participate. Yes, it may cause a bit more drama and require additional preparation, but hosting a multi-family sale can really boost profits.

Remember: the early bird catches the worm! Most hard-core shoppers expect sales to begin early. 7:00am is a good time to start to steer clear of the heat and get some good buyers. To avoid the languishing afternoon stragglers, make a cut off around lunchtime.

Step 2: Get the word out.
Scope out the neighborhood papers and thrift ads to post a notice. If you have a multi-family sale, list it first in capital letters. Put a few specialty items that would appeal to a wide variety of buyers but also include general categories. Split the cost of your ad with the neighbors.

Step 3: Get a permit and investigate signage.
Most larger communities require permits for garage sales and typically set a limit for the number of sales allowed per year. You must have the permit on site if a trusty city official swings by, so keep it in the cash box. If you can post signs, buy foam board in a bright color and write with a chisel tip sharpie the address of your sale. Post two or three more signs (with balloons) to direct traffic.

Step 4: Prepare the goods.
Don’t try to sell stuff with dust on it. Grab a wipe and scour. No one buys a dirty car just as few people want to pay for a food-encrusted high chair. At least pretend that you treasure your belongings and paint them in the best light possible.

Step 5: The price is right.
If going in with more than one seller, buy different colored blank stickers to label your items. Write with a sharpie and include your initials on each label. Include OBO on larger items you are willing to negotiate. Keep in mind that you’ll have to budge on most bigger ticket things, so you may want to price it slightly higher.

Step 6: Score some change.
People will bring cash (and I don’t take checks unless I personally know the buyer–cash only is much safer). Get $30-40 worth of coins, $5s, and especially $1s for change. Keep track of sales in a multifamily bonanza by drawing one column per seller on a blank piece of paper. As items are purchased, put the sellers price sticker under their column.

Step 7: Window dressing.
What makes you give in to buying yet another t-shirt you don’t need from The Gap can work in your favor for a garage sale. Set up card tables and cover them with inexpensive tablecloths of the same bright color to attract buyers. If you have a huge sale, use different colors for each item category.

Set things out organized by color to minimize the overwhelming ADD factor that repels people like me from thrift stores and garage sales. Get some balloons in coordinating colors to attract passersby. I like to display one or two nice pieces of furniture up front to draw in a crowd. It also can’t hurt to combine a bake sale and lemonade stand to make some extra change.

Step 8: Be bargain ready.
Be ready to accept lower offers and make flat rate prices for a group of items. For goods like toys, dishware, and clothing, they can be easier to sell as a group.

If you’re trying to sell an antique, make sure you have an appraised value ahead of time.

Step 9: Clean it up.
Take down the signs immediately after to avoid a fine. Load up all unwanted goods and cart off to Goodwill or Salvation Army before you have time to procrastinate. Divide up the proceeds in a multifamily sale and head straight to the bank with your wad of cash!

You can make small yet amazing changes in your digital images with the click of a button and without spending a dime.

As a professional photographer, I use Adobe Photoshop, but I often use my free software when going through our day-to-day family snapshots.  (MC Note: I use Adobe Photoshop Elements AND Picasa – see below!)

Today I am going to tell you all about my favorite free software for PCs: Picasa by Google. After downloading the program to your computer, you will begin “importing” (or moving) photo files into the program.

Choose a photo to edit and start playing.

Easy Edits

BASIC FIXES:
You can crop, remove red eye, add fill light, straighten your image, add text, or change several aspects of your exposure by using the “auto” buttons.

Here are three of my favorites-

Crop: You can crop an image to get rid of an eye sore as below, or to move in closer to your subject. Click “crop”, drag lines to frame your photo as desired, and click crop again.

One tip to remember when cropping- as you crop in tighter, you lose some resolution and you may not be able to make larger prints as before. Simple fix: try to move in closer with your camera.

Red Eye: It happens to the best of us- sometimes we *need* to use flash and before you know it, you get 25 pictures of your friends looking possessed! Picasa’s latest version has made fixing red eyes very easy. Click Red Eye under Basic Fixes.

Fill Light: Sometimes you take the perfect picture, upload it onto your computer, and realize, “it’s just a little too dark”. Here’s where fill light comes in. Load your photo into Picasa. Click fill light. Adjust the slider until you get the desired level.

TUNING:
You can adjust fill light, highlights, shadows. Use as needed, playing with the sliders will give you the best idea of how they will change your photo.

EFFECTS:
Here’s where it gets fun! You can sharpen, turn your photo to sepia or black and white, warm up your image, add grain, add saturation, tint your photo, add a soft focus, add glow, and use partial and filtered black and white.

Black and White: By making a photo black and white, you can add an artistic, emotional feel. Black and white has a classic, timeless element to it. Check it out.

Want to take it one step further? Try Filtered Black and White. By clicking on “pick color” and then hovering your mouse over the eight colors, you will see various versions of black and white. Choose your favorite and then click apply.

Glow: One of my favorite edits is the glow function. It “adds a gauzy look” to your photos. The glow function makes the photo a bit softer, a bit more romantic, a bit more emotional. It does not work with all photos, but when its applicable, it’s wonderful.

These tips will occupy you for hours and will take your family photos to a new level. Enjoy playing and leave a comment sharing your favorite commands and tips for Picasa!

~Camera Cait

Couples, you will find this FREE app extra useful. Grocery IQ is a great multi-platform grocery list app. Anyone can use email, texting, or other list apps for their grocery list, but this app takes convenience to a whole new level.

When making your list you can search, scan bar codes (from your phone’s camera), or simply enter your items. The bar code option makes things super simple if you’re making the list for someone else (no communication mix ups!). Or you can compile a list online at their site.  And once you download and sign into the app, your list can be accessed on any iPhone, iPad, or Android phone!

While shopping, simply click the box next to each item you pick up and it gets crossed out.  When you have everything, click “Checkout” and all the items on your list are stored in your history making it even easier to add next shopping trip.  There’s also a way to add items to your favorites.

My two favorite aspects of this app?  The list sharing and the coupons provided by Coupons.com.  The list sharing is awesome.  You just sign up for one account and whoever you want to have access to your list, give them the sign in information.  So when you’re at home with the kids and your husband is out food shopping and you remember something you need, you can add it to the list and it’s updated on HIS list!  LOVE.

The coupons aspect is great for the most part.  The downside is most need to be printed before you go.  You can look through them on your phone and have the ones you select emailed to you, but this doesn’t help for on the go shopping.  There is a redeeming function though, and that’s when some of the coupons (there’s 2 tabs so click on the “Savings Card” one) can be added to your store’s savings card.  So when you swipe it or input your phone number for the store savings, the coupon gets applied.  Very nice!

You can make lists for different stores and organize by aisle.  It really doesn’t get any better than this!

Nicole blogs about all sorts of Android phone goodness over at Tech-Mom-O-Gy and she also makes drool-worthy invitations, mommy cards and other personalized wonders at Voila!  Customs by Nicole!

Just a few short years ago, buying organic food was not only very expensive, but you had to go to specialty stores to buy it. In the past few years, organic food has become more main stream. With this, has come decreased pricing and increased availability. Organic food doesn’t have to be a budget breaker. While you should expect to pay a small premium, you can find ways to reduce the costs.

1. Join a CSA – This is a community supported agricultural group. You pay a portion of the farmer’s expenses and each week you get a box full of fresh produce. It doesn’t get better than this. Many farmers will allow you to come to the farm and see the produce as it is growing. You can make sure you are truly getting organic produce. The growing season is usually about 20-30 weeks, depending on what part of the country you are in.

1. Buy at surplus, discount scratch and dent grocery stores – Stores that get surplus of stock often carry organic cereal and snacks. Many stores will send their surplus organic items to these stores. They can be bought at a fraction of the retail cost. The selection changes frequently at these stores, so what you buy one week will not necessarily be available the next week.

1. Grow your own produce – You don’t have to grow everything! Pick a few items that grow well in your climate. You can find great tips on organic growing at organickitchen.com

1. Shop outside of your grocery stores – Your grocery store isle may be the most expensive place to buy organic. There are many options available. Try your local health food store, shop online – check the Organic Kitchen for a list of online merchants,

1. Consider Antibiotic or Hormone Free Meats – Organic meat can be very expensive. The organic feed for the animals is more costly, thus increasing the cost of the meat. Buy antibiotic and hormone free meats instead. These animals were fed regular food, but meet the other organic requirements.

1. Buy store brand generics – Many stores are now offering generic organic foods that are comparable to brand name regular food. Check your supermarkets for these brands. Often they will offer coupons for these brands as well.

Shannon blogs over at For the Mommas.  She’s a bargain hunting expert and is a master at finding “free after coupon” deals, especially at Rite Aid.